


Dark Paradise

by Changeling_Lili



Category: Penny Dreadful (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood Drinking, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Death, Dysfunctional Family, F/F, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Rape Recovery, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:27:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 18,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27831508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Changeling_Lili/pseuds/Changeling_Lili
Summary: A fix-it for the end of Penny Dreadful
Relationships: Mina Harker/Vanessa Ives
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

Vanessa should have noticed something was odd by the time she got to the top of the stairs – a change in the atmosphere, a whisper only she could hear – but somehow exhaustion and stress combined to keep her unaware. This made it all the more shocking when she turned to see Mina at the end of the hall. 

It was exactly like last time. She stood in the same spot, close to Vanessa’s bedroom door, her grief-stricken face so pale as to seem illuminated in the dark. And just like last time, Vanessa dropped her teacup in shock, only now there was no slowing of the outside world as she was pulled across to the demimonde. Was it possible any of this was real? Disbelief gnawed at her mind. After so much time in hypnosis, reliving all her worst days in such vivid detail, the real world seemed less trustworthy. Science should have helped her free herself of the troublesome uncertainty over which world she was in, but it was only making it worse.

The cup shattered when it hit the floor only a heartbeat later. Everything was still solid and tangible. Including Mina, as Vanessa discovered when she shook off her initial shock and rushed to her friend. Even as she moved close, she knew how reckless it was. It must be another trick, and she was willingly running to it. Mina felt so real, so familiar in her arms. She was slightly chilled, but not colder than the air around them, and when she broke into sobs she sounded exactly like she had the last time Vanessa had seen her alive. 

Vanessa closed her eyes. She was so tired; if this were another trap maybe it would be best to give in. There would never be another so comforting. Maybe it would be best to die with the renewed joy of finally having it all come right. Was it all right again? No, this was no happy illusion. No, for although Mina was animated, she was certainly not alive. But not quite dead either? Vanessa thought of how she had looked after she’d been shot. How still her body had been. How empty, just like any other truly dead cadaver she’d seen during her unlikely new family’s adventures. She hadn’t wanted to leave her side even then. She had almost begged to follow the body all the way back to the coast, to be there for the small hasty funereal, to be allowed to mourn. She had imagined herself afterwards, alone by the graveside, laying on the freshly turned earth and letting the grief flow out of her and soak all the way down to the coffin. Even then she wouldn’t have been emptied out of guilt, but she could at least have left behind some small portion of the tears that never seemed to end. But of course she hadn’t been welcome. Mrs. Murray would never have allowed it, not after all that had happened, so Sir Malcolm had quickly sent the body away, using his wealth and influence to smooth over any questions that might have arisen over the strange circumstances, and Mina was gone again.

Until now. Vanessa stroked Mina’s matted hair as she felt anger at all she had lost wash through her. She could feel tears soaking into the neck of her dress, and each little sob brought a tremor to the mouth that was so close to her exposed skin. Dangerously close.

Vanessa quickly pushed Mina away to hold her at arm’s length and study her face. She looked all too human, wrung out by sadness. Convincing, but Vanessa knew how quickly a face could change. She looked closer, brow knit in concentration.

“Oh!” Mina realized why she was being scrutinized so closely. “No, I wasn’t going to – I’m sorry I did last time, but things are different now.”

“How are you here?” Vanessa’s heart responded to the stricken look on Mina’s drawn face, but she had to resist the call of death in any form. It would be so easy to give up just as she’d been thinking moments ago. Best to be careful. “Did he send you?”

“No, he doesn’t know where I am now. And I very much would like to keep it that way. Please, this time you truly can help me! And maybe I in turn can help you. I know so many things now, and I am at last free to speak.”

“Then tell me everything. I don’t know if I should trust you, but the time for doing what we should is long past, isn’t it?”

“I will, but there are parts I do not remember. I have a . . . friend who can help explain,” said Mina

“Does your friend understand what we are up against? And that it is all real?” Vanessa’s voice was raspy with emotion.

“She does. And she is your friend as well! Isn’t that lucky?”

Vanessa had learned to be suspicious of coincidences. “Yes. I suppose it is.”


	2. Chapter 2

They had settled in the drawing room, Vanessa awkwardly offering tea before realizing her faux pas. She kept tapping her finger on the rim of her own cup. She was considering ways to ask what seemed like too grotesque of a thing to say aloud, and finally settled on the direct approach.

“Did you have to dig your own way out, or is this ‘friend’ of yours a grave robber?”

Mina’s laugh sounded so different now. It was harsher, with a cold edge. “No, I was never buried, was I? When I woke up I had been moved, but I never left London.”

“But Sir Malcolm took you back. There was a funereal – a small one, and I didn’t attend, but he went all the way back to the country house with you.”

“Not with me. It all must have been a sham, an empty coffin to match Peter’s. Though it would be just like him, wouldn’t it? To shoot me and then take my body back like one of his awful trophies.”

“You never did much like taxidermy, did you?” Vanessa took a sip of her tea.

“No, not like you did. I suppose it’s just more proof that you’re his true daughter.” Mina’s face fell and she instinctively reached for the cup of tea she didn’t have. As her hand swept through the empty space where the cup should have been she scowled. “That’s what it’s always come down to for me, isn’t it? My life being ruined because some man decides you’re the better of us.”

“Mina, no!” Vanessa realized as soon as the words were out of her mouth how shabby a protest it was. From her friend’s perspective, that was exactly what had happened over and over. She considered how Mina seemed unwilling or unable to see how much guilt she had been carrying. She set her cup down and twisted her hands together. “Listen. It was my own fault. The night of your wedding. Will you hear me now?”

“There’s nothing to say. I saw, remember? You were rutting like animals. My dearest friend and my fiance.”

“Yes, but I . . . the worst part of it is knowing how terribly guilty I am, but not knowing why I did it. I remember when I woke that night, in the bed with you, and watched you there. You were so sound asleep I thought you might never wake. I wanted to hold you and sleep and stay like that forever. We could lie so close we’d find our way into each other’s dreams. But I was so restless. All day I’d watched you, so perfect and so adored, knowing you’d be taken away. You might never come back from India you know. I thought of you suffering in the heat and of all the things that might happen to you, and even if you did come back it would never be the same would it? And once I was downstairs, I ran into him – your intended – and I had the impulse to show him the solarium, to take him through the museum we spent so many hours of our childhood building together. Do you remember how you always chose the little prey animals? Your squirrel was there, and then of course my great bird, and I felt that it was an echo of what we always were inside. But I didn’t want to prey on you, I wanted to protect you, to show you how to be bold like me.”

Mina had fallen silent, her face still and unreadable. Vanessa paused and took the moments of quiet as a hint she could go on.

“He was going to take you away from me. But also, he was going to be so close to you. He would touch parts of you I’d only thought of and never quite dared. I hated him so much for a moment, and then I felt so jealous of his mouth, his body. It was, in the end, the only way I could be close to you. It took you away from me all the same, but I suppose I never had time to think through the consequences of it – it was all over so fast.”

“You never even wanted him!” Mina’s voice was harsh and bitter. 

“Well, no. Not like I wanted you. He was so dull, anyway – how could you not see it?”

“Compared to you, you mean.”

Vanessa had no reply to this. Of course she was so much more than any man Mina could have chosen. She knew her friend deeply and endlessly, and her adoration was complete, body and soul. Mina must see it, now that she was no longer bound by the strictures of polite society, or even of life itself. How could she not admit she’d known all along how fascinating Vanessa was? That her shying away from Vanessa’s intensity and darkness had been nothing more than a way of turning toward the conventionality her parents had bred into her – conventionality that could never have saved her in the end?

Although she couldn’t find words for the complexity of thoughts she had around their relationship, Vanessa could tell Mina was able to read her expression even more clearly than in life. She thrilled at the idea of what her friend might say next, now that she had no expectations and no polite rules binding her. Before either woman could speak, there was a sharp knock at the door.

Vanessa was so lost in memory and anticipation she forgot for a moment there were no longer any servants. She rose and went out to the heavy front door to find Catriona Hartdegen. The mysterious woman had not seemed to Vanessa to be the sort to care about etiquette but still, this was a shockingly late hour for a social call.

“Sorry I’m late!” said Catriona “Mina said she wanted to see you alone first, and I hope I’ve given the two of you enough time to catch up.” Her sympathetic look suggested to Vanessa that she too once had a childhood friend she hadn’t been able to find words for. “But I can come back tomorrow if that’s not the case!”

“You . . . know Mina?” Even as Vanessa said it, the picture became a little more clear.

“Of course! She is very much in my field of study; how could I pass up the opportunity?”

Ah, yes. Thanatology – a branch of science Vanessa suspected Catriona had invented for herself. What a poetic coincidence that her new acquaintances should include a thanatologist and a zoologist. The study of death and the study of life, and she and Mina were somewhere between the two. But no, she would have to revise the list of new people in her life. Her poor, mild-mannered zoologist, Dr Sweet, had been a fun distraction, but as her life grew dark and strange once again she’d had to push him away for his own safety. Mina’s reappearance only proved how very dark and strange things were at present.

“You’re frowning – shall I go? It’s really no trouble.” Catriona’s carefree voice pulled Vanessa back to the present.

“Oh – no, do come in. I was only lost in my own mind for a moment. And I don’t think it’s at all too late at night for those such as ourselves.”

They passed into the drawing room, Vanessa offering her new guest a seat and disappearing to see to more tea. She couldn’t help but notice the way Catriona’s face lit up at the sight of Mina tucked into the side chair. Just like it had been in life; no one could miss her lovely friend’s natural charm. But there was something more in that look. Perhaps Vanessa’s hidden feelings, the ones she did not have words for, were not so rare as she’d thought.


	3. Chapter 3

“Now,” said Vanessa once she’d served tea to both herself and Catriona, offering Mina an apologetic glance, “Mina has told me some small part of this strange turn of events, but she has also said that there are parts you can fill in, things she does not remember.”

“Yes, it was as if I had been sleeping,” said Mina.

“ ‘At rest’ as so many epitaphs would have it. Only much more literal!” Catriona chuckled to herself. “Well, I had found myself in a somewhat disreputable part of town that night, and my death sense compelled me into the theatre.”

“What is this death sense?” asked Vanessa.

“It’s only my name for it. Truly, it’s been with me since childhood – it took me ages to work out that not everyone has it. It’s what set me on my life’s work, I can no more escape this pull it has on me than I could – well, do anything else according to convention.”

Vanessa noted again how comfortable her new friend seemed to be in trousers. She must not care at all what others might think of her.

“So, I just knew I had to get into that theatre and wouldn’t it be my luck to find someone else had already broken in! There was blood all over the stage – not theatrical blood, but not ordinary blood either from the smell of it.” Vanessa fought down the urge to ask how Catriona knew what ordinary blood smelled like in contrast to that of a dark creature. “And right at the edge, I saw Mina here, looking for all the world like a murder victim.”

“I am a murder victim,” Mina interrupted, “twice now.”

Catriona looked at her with sympathy. “Yes, and that’s the fascinating thing. Most people only get murdered the one time and are done with it.”

“How fortunate for them.” Mina had picked up a teacup and was tracing its rim with one pale fingertip.

“Well, I knew she wasn’t an ordinary corpse, so I managed to transport her back to my flat – it’s awfully helpful to know the resurrection men around here – and the next night she was awake! She agreed to tell me all she could, which has enhanced my studies enormously, but she also wanted to come back to you. Once I found out our connection, I thought all of us banding together and pooling our knowledge might help you in your current struggles.”

It still seemed too easy. “I do have need of help, but how can I be sure either of you are telling the truth?”

Catriona glanced from one woman to the other. “I don’t think there is any way to prove anything – that’s the slippery nature of this work. I gather there’s been some bad blood between you and Mina, but I’m not here to involve myself in any vengeance or hidden agenda. Maybe you should sleep on it and we can continue tomorrow night.”

“Very well,” said Vanessa, “come back tomorrow then. Mina, I suppose you need a place to stay?” She kept her voice calm and even, but felt her heart speed up. What if Mina was happy staying over at Catriona’s flat? Wouldn’t that be better for them all? It would, so why did the idea make her so bitter?

“Please? I hardly ever visited this house, and Father never even set up a room for me here, but it’s yours too now isn’t it?” Mina looked so sad Vanessa thought again of all she had said. Of how her life had been ruined one final time by Sir Malcolm deciding on a careless whim that he preferred Vanessa. 

“Of course. It’s as much yours as it is mine. Please, stay.”

Catriona noted how the women’s gazes lingered on each other and tactfully saw herself out with only the briefest of farewells. 

“Did you really never have a room of your own in this house?” Vanessa’s tone was casual, but she felt an unfamiliar sense of grasping at the right words. This was still her old friend, but she couldn’t forget how changed she was. And all the things that had come between them. She felt she had to tread carefully, as if she were crossing a mire out on the moors where any wrong step could send her into dangerous territory and she wouldn’t know until it was too late. “There are so many rooms, and we use so few.”

“And I think Father preferred I stay in the country. All this,” Mina said, gesturing at the leather sofa, the trophy heads, the nautical paintings, “was meant to be his realm. A place he could feel like a real man. Away from the rest of us, all wilting like garden flowers in our soft rolling countryside.”

“Can you ever forgive him?” Can you ever forgive me, Vanessa wanted to say.

“Can you?” That hard edge was back in Mina’s smile.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Have you already forgotten? I know so many things now. Remember when I spoke at the séance? Did you know it was me then? Truly me? Inside you, using your mouth. I know you saw him with your mother. I know you imagined it made us closer, sisters but not. Something else.”

“We were always something else. Something closer. How many nights I waited for you to realize it!”

“No, you were something else, something other. I think if I’d gone away to school, if I’d known more girls, I’d have recognized it.” Mina had risen from her seat and crossed the room to stand too close to Vanessa and look too deep into her eyes. “But I can admit now, I loved the chill, the excitement of your ghoulish stories and reckless desire for adventure. But I was never like you. I only wanted a husband, and children.”

“And how do you know what I wanted?” snapped Vanessa. “Or do you imagine me to be something so terrible I could never have my own husband, my own children?” Her voice broke on the final word. Mina crouched by the sofa, looking again like her old sympathetic self, and drew Vanessa into a hug.

“I know. I know it’s hard. How much does anyone truly care what we want, even as ordinary mortal women?”

“Now you sound like you’ve been studying the New Woman ideas.” Vanessa laughed bitterly, already sorry she’d revealed such an intimate pain.

“What are we, if not new women?” Mina gave Vanessa a final comforting squeeze, one she recognized as the old sign that all was forgiven, and released her. “Well, I should go open a room and settle in.”

As Mina turned to go upstairs Vanessa caught her wrist. “I thought you could stay in my room for tonight.”

Mina turned back, her face full of questions.

“You know, like old times. Neither of us will have to feel so alone.”

“You’ve seen what I am. And I could tell, earlier, you don’t quite believe me. That since I woke from that night in the theatre I’m free of him? You keep giving me such odd looks. You’re afraid he’s still inside my mind.”

Vanessa couldn’t deny it, but she also couldn’t stand how pained Mina looked when she said it. “I don’t think it matters, does it? So many horrors have found their way into this house. I think now I’d be willing to face any of them if it meant I could have more time with you.”

“You sound so dedicated. Like my husband, almost.”

“And what happened to him?”

“He’s dead.”

Of course. Why had she asked? “Well then I am all you have left now. All the more reason not to abandon you.”

“Don’t be silly Vanessa, it’s hardly abandoning me; I’ll be right down the hall!”

Vanessa realized arguing any further would sound unhinged and desperate. She tried to smile with genuine warmth. “Take your pick then – I’ve got the room at the end of the hall to the right.”

“I’ll be next door then. Do you have a nightgown I can borrow? It’s been so long since I’ve been able to dress for bed!”

Mina sounded like an eager child at the prospect of sleeping in an ordinary bed in ordinary nightclothes. Vanessa couldn’t help but imagine what her nights had been like lately, and immediately pushed away the dark and complicated feelings the images brought up, hoping her face hadn’t given anything away. “Of course, and candles. And if you need another blanket I have extra in my room. Are you . . . cold?” There was so much she wanted to ask, things that could only be said quietly in the dark, whispered close, mouthed against a bare shoulder, but that would have to wait if Mina wanted to keep her distance. 

“I am always cold, but it doesn’t bother me.” 

Vanessa wanted to say something reassuring, something about the new life they might have now, but when she looked into Mina’s eyes she could see the cold. Her pupils were like dark tunnels, and if she looked too long she felt she would fall into them, going deeper into the cold until she didn’t care either. Mina broke the gaze by turning away. “Good night, Vanessa. Have pleasant dreams.”

She wondered if Mina still dreamed, or if her sleep even felt the same as it had in life. How had none of these questions occurred to her during her endless letter writing? When writing, she had imagined the old Mina, had been writing to call back all the memories of those years. Seeing the creature she was now, the white figure receding up the dark stairwell, she knew her many pages of reminiscing had little to do with the things they would discuss now. This was a new time, and it was true even though it had been meant as a joke - they were both in their own ways, new women.


	4. Chapter 4

Vanessa didn’t know what time it was when the knock at her door awakened her, but the candles had burned down and there was no trace of dawn yet to relieve the darkness. She crossed to the door and found Mina there, looking sheepish.

“I changed my mind – can I come in?” she asked.

“Of course, come to bed and get warm. Your hands are --” Vanessa scoffed at herself. How could she keep forgetting? Was it her own desire to have everything back the way it once was that made her say such wrong things?

“I know they are,” Mina said simply, not giving away any emotion over her friend’s continued faux pas as she allowed herself to be led across the bare wood floor.

Settled in, Vanessa could hardly see the outline of her friend’s head on the pillow in the dim glow from the streetlight that slipped in through the curtain. She had the impression Mina could see much more clearly though, as she reached out and stroked Vanessa’s loose hair, arranging it over her shoulder. 

“I couldn’t be alone for so long,” said Mina, breaking the tension, “I haven’t been since the night Catriona found me, and I can’t stand to hear my own thoughts circling around in my head.”

Vanessa was surprised that the idea of Mina never being alone in Catriona’s flat bothered her so much. It could mean anything. They could have just been talking, Cat taking notes for her research. “I sometimes hate the things in my mind as well,” she murmured.

“I think this is different. Do you remember when I would send my spirit out to you?”

“Of course I do. I’ve never seen any spirit as clearly as I did yours. It showed me how strong our bond still was.” How strong you truly were.

“Yes, and when I was with you I was allowed to be on my own, away for only a short time. I always tried to stay longer, but he wouldn’t let me. I would be pulled away.” 

“I remember. It was bizarre to witness.”

“Those visits were the only time I was away, so they let me know what it would feel like. And that’s what I felt when I woke up, in the theater. I didn’t think it would last, but it has.” Mina tilted her head back as she spoke, her eyes catching the thin hints of light and shining as she moved. 

“Yes, and so you’re sure you’re not here to trap me again.” her voice was harsher than Vanessa had intended. 

“I would know it I were anything other than myself now. Myself, changed, but still myself. But it does worry me. Being sent out of one’s body is so strange, like swimming in the deep water you always loved so much. And he would always be there, somewhere, invisible. Like those awful deep-sea creatures with all their sucking arms, waiting to grasp and pull.” Mina had returned to playing with Vanessa’s hair, pulling it again over her shoulder and then lifting it and stroking it back, curling it around her fingers in complex patterns. “And now, that is what I fear. If my mind wanders too much. If I look into the dark again.”

“The awful grasping arms of the deep.” Vanessa stretched her own arm out and draped it over Mina.

“It feels like freedom, but I have the constant gnawing horror it might not be. That it could all be an illusion. And if I let myself feel that horror too much, it’s even worse, like I’m inviting it to be true.”

“So you’re here to be distracted.” 

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“You’re playing with my hair like when we were little girls.”

Mina dropped the locks she’d been winding around her hand. “I’m sorry, I’ll try to sleep now.”

“No, you don’t have to stop.” By now Vanessa could see more of Mina’s face. The outlines of her cheekbone and lips were limned by the pale light. “Besides, it’s near morning.” 

“What does that even mean? I don’t know when to sleep and when to be awake anymore.”

“It means you’ve kept all your terrors at bay for another night.”


	5. Chapter 5

Vanessa did sleep eventually, deep and without dreams. When she woke she saw Mina sitting in the alcove by her desk, legs curled under. In the weak grey light she could see Mina was still wearing her tattered old dress and not the nightgown Vanessa had given her. The lacy skirts were pooled on the floor amongst a drift of discarded pages. She held one final page lightly in her fingers, rubbing the paper as if it might vanish. She seemed aware of being watched, despite never looking up.

“ ‘But I love you enough to kill you’ - is this still true?”

It felt like years since Vanessa had closed her final letter with those words, but it couldn’t have been so long, could it? “Why are you reading those?”

“They were addressed to me. Don’t evade the question.”

“I do. But only if it’s what you want. When I was writing that I had only seen you suffering, and I felt it might come down to that. That it would be the only way, that we’d fail to find a cure, and it seemed right I should be the one to do it. To be the one to face the consequences of my own sins.”

“You were looking for a cure?” Mina looked like the winsome child she’d once been, but on the verge of tears. As if the first dark claw of the terrible world had hooked itself into her heart, but the darkness hadn’t reached her wide eyes yet.

“Yes, we – well, there was a doctor I’d become friends with . . . .”

“Why did you stop?” Now the darkness had filled Mina’s eyes and she sounded broken.

“We never did stop, we were all working so hard --” Vanessa already felt the lie as she was saying it. She had needed to hold onto it for so long, pushing away the reality of it under so many almosts: It had almost worked, they’d almost saved her. But none of it was true, or they’d still have been at work on it. They’d have kept Mina, restrained her, sedated her – anything they had to do until she was cured or dead. But they never did pursue the ‘cured’ half of that very far did they? “I’m sorry, I don’t know.”

“Would you still do it? If I lose myself again?”

“Yes, but it won’t come to that. That Hartdegen woman will help us, and soon it’ll all be a bad memory.” Vanessa pushed back the covers and rose from the bed. She couldn’t quite look at Mina, sure her friend had heard the uncertainty in her voice. She waited a moment to see if she’d argue, but Mina let her have that one hopeful lie. For now.

“So,” she said, crossing to the windows and pushing back the curtains, “an overcast day. Does that allow you to be active? Can you stand sunlight in small amounts?”

“Yes, it’s just so bright. Everything is much . . . more now. Light, and sound. I can tell there are mice in the attic, and the horse being harnessed in the mews behind us has a tender foot.” Mina cocked her head and paused. “The right front one I think. And of course scent. Did you know you have a scent so particular to you I should know it under any circumstance? I am like an animal now, with my ability.”

“That sounds more practical and less supernatural.” Vanessa knelt to help her friend gather up the scattered pages around her. Mina looked even more like a sad, very tired, mortal woman now with the weak light diffused across her face.

“I think we’re all a mix of both. It’s not as if he told me anything about this existence when he brought me into it. Catriona and I have been experimenting as much as we dare. I’m so curious about it all, but I must not upset whatever delicate balance I have attained.” Mina helped gather up the pages, putting them in order so quickly Vanessa wondered if organizing small things was another unexplored power. Mina had always kept her room and her belongings so tidy, proud of the skills she would one day bring to her own home as a wife. Vanessa had a vision of her straightening the piles of corpses in one of those terrible vampire nests, tidying all the scattered bones and limbs away. 

“What are you thinking of? You have that strange look you used to get before you said something awful.”

“Nothing at all. Now how late is it? I must have slept half the day.”

“What does it matter? Do we have any appointments to keep?” 

Vanessa knew she meant it as a joke, but she thrilled at how easily Mina had said ‘we’. They were united again, and would act as one. Still, she couldn’t keep her mind from recalling today was the day she would have been at the museum for the regular lecture series. And maybe a walk after that . . . . But no. She thought again of how nice it had been to veer so close to a normal life. A normal relationship. She would have to accept that it couldn’t be. She’d been deluding herself those last few weeks, but after what happened, well. Best not to bring any innocent outsiders into to it – and that meant no more visits to the museum.

“No, of course we don’t have anywhere to go. Now, shall we go and make some tea?”

Mina gave her a sad look. This would take some more getting used to, clearly.

“I am so sorry. But I do know a bath and a change of clothes would help you feel better. I’ll come along and help with your hair; when did you last wash it?”

“It’s alright, I don’t want to change, and all my old clothes are long gone by now I’m sure.”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” said Vanessa, reaching out to help Mina up. “I’m sure I have some things you can borrow, and we’ll get you new dresses soon. Now, let me --” Mina pushed Vanessa’s hand away as soon as it came near the buttons running down the back of her dress.

“I said no.” Mina couldn’t quite face her friend but Vanessa could hear the pain in her voice.

“But – I don’t understand. Are you still so angry with me you refuse to let even a hint of our old closeness back? Last night you seemed so comfortable to be with me. You were playing with my hair.”

“It’s nothing to do with that.”

“Then what? There are no secrets between us now, and it must remain that way.”

“I don’t want you to see.” Mina’s voice was so low it was almost a whisper. She seemed to be trying to shrink into herself and disappear, just as her spirit had. 

“Oh. Oh, no, come here.” Vanessa pulled her friend close and led her to sit on the edge of the bed. Being the one to offer comfort should have been unfamiliar, but it felt natural as she was doing it, stroking Mina’s still-tangled hair and wrapping one arm around her, avoiding anything that might startle her. 

“I wonder if I can still cry,” said Mina.

“Let yourself do whatever you need. For as long as you want. I won’t try to pressure you again, and it was foolish of me not to realize Catriona must have already offered you new clothes. I’m sure she already had this conversation with you.” Vanessa noticed that her stroking Mina’s hair had a soothing effect, and some of the tension was leaving her as she snuggled closer. “I’m sure she was more gracious than I’ve been.”

Mina laughed. “Actually, she tried to bribe me into showing her. I screamed at her and refused to speak for the rest of that night. And the next. She has trouble with which lines her ‘research’ shouldn’t cross.” She hugged Vanessa back, lifting her head to look at her. “Also, there’s no need for you to go on being jealous of her. There’s nothing like that between us.”

“Jealous?” 

“Oh, come on. I’m not as sheltered as I once was. And if anyone should be worried, shouldn’t it be me? I’ve seen how she looks at you.” Now that the subject had changed Mina was once again in control of herself, as if it had never been otherwise. “But I think we need her to help us, so any troublesome feelings getting in our way again would be . . . unwise.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Mina laughed at her again, and twined her fingers into Vanessa’s. She brought their hands up between them, an automatic gesture half-remembered from childhood. “We have to be united in this. No distractions. To save us both, whatever that might mean in the end.”

Vanessa had grown used to Mina’s new mercurial temperament. It was a side of her she’d never have suspected was there to be brought out, but now that it had been she liked it. She leaned in over their clasped hands and murmured her assent. 

Mina released her, then looked at her palm. It had picked up a thin film of the dirt that had collected in her hair. She sniffed at it, then wrinkled her nose.

“You were right. I should bathe.”

“I’ll give you your privacy then. I’m sorry I troubled you earlier.”

“No, it’s best we do this together.” Mina sat up straighter and rested a hand on Vanessa’s shoulder. “I’m so appalled thinking of all the marks and scars I must have by now, but if we are going to act together – if I am to trust you, and you me – it’s better that you help me.” 

“Are you certain? There’s no need to rush.” 

“It’s been long enough. Earlier I reacted as if you were anyone else, but you’re . . . you. And if you help me I don’t have to be alone. Besides, how will I manage all this hair without you?”  
Vanessa smiled warmly. “If you’re sure. What shall I do?”

“I’m ready to get out of this dress, to start.”

Vanessa paused, steeling herself, hoping Mina wouldn’t notice even with her new finely attuned senses. If she had, she didn’t say anything. Vanessa tried to push away the images of what her friend might look like now, under her old dress that was the last remnant of her old life. She couldn’t help but remember how rough and forceful Lucifer had been, but she had wanted that, hadn’t she? It had been different. And how similar were the two brothers? Had Mina suffered from something worse? 

Mina had turned away, pulling her hair up and off the back of her dress. Vanessa was glad she wasn’t studying her face as her unwanted thoughts only turned darker. She reached out and grasped the first tiny round button. Mina shuddered at the contact, but told her to go on, so she slowly undid each button holding the collar closed and let the fabric drop away from her friend’s neck at last. 

Her skin was perfectly unmarked. Vanessa rose up on her knees, moving further onto the bed so she could reach around Mina and ease the dress away. It gave her a full view of her slender naked throat, which was a white and clear as it had been in her memory. She continued working at the buttons, moving slowly and being careful not to brush against Mina’s skin, letting her adjust to being exposed. The rest of her body was the same. She still had the little pinkish birthmark she’d always had on her lower back, and the little twin moles on her hip Vanessa had once teasingly called her witch mark, but her flesh carried no sign of injury or violation. She helped Mina stand up, allowing the dress to slide down to pool on the floor, and saw she had kept her eyes closed. 

“You can look now. I . . . don’t think this is what you expected.”

Mina opened her eyes halfway and glanced down at herself. Her hair had slithered back over her shoulders when Vanessa dropped it, and now it fell loose to cover her neck and part of her breasts.

“No, I . . . it’s not. Then only . . . .” She pulled her hair tight against herself, making a thick collar of it.

“No. If you’ve been worrying over having his mark on your neck, you should come look.” Vanessa took Mina’s hand and turned her toward the dressing table. 

Mina laughed bitterly. “Look? In the mirror?”

“Yes. It’s been behind you this whole time, and I can assure you you have a reflection. If you want to avoid it you may. We can save that for another day.”

“No, let’s go. Show me.” She followed Vanessa and allowed her to help her onto the seat of the dressing table. She leaned forward and carefully pulled her hair into a handful behind her head, which Vanessa took from her and gathered into her own hands, lifting it gently away from Mina’s neck. 

Mina leaned in, close to the glass, turning her head and lifting her chin at different angles to see herself better. Finally she caught Vanessa’s eye in the glass.

“I’m certain all your scars are on the inside. Still, I hope this has been at least some small help.” Vanessa let go of the masses of hair she’d been wrapping around her hand and shook the blonde waves out.

“Yes, thank you. I don’t have words right now.” 

“Then are you ready to settle into a bath?”

“Yes.” Mina rose and looked over at her sad dingy dress where it lay discarded on the floor. 

Vanessa followed her gaze. “I can send it out to be washed and mended.”

“No.” Mina turned away. “Burn it.”


	6. Chapter 6

Catriona was punctual that evening, and Vanessa contrived to be downstairs far enough ahead of Mina to speak with her privately.

“Have you been keeping things from her? Things she should know?”

“And a good evening to you too! What brought this on?” Catriona was taken aback by her directness, but recovered herself in no time. 

“She didn’t seem to know she’d have a reflection. Which is counter to all the cheap stories I’ve read. So, I suspect you’ve been keeping facts from her in order to have a better subject.”

“She never asked to see herself, which I think we both know she had her own reasons for. And it would be unscientific of me to question her with the notions that she’ll prove all my reading to be correct. Better that I find out what I can and keep an open mind in the process. I may never again have an opportunity like this!”

“This present ‘opportunity’ will end if I find out you’ve done anything that could distress her or harm her. I like you, and I hope we are friends, but you understand the closeness I have with her is a thing unto itself.”

Catriona raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like you’ve worked out whatever rift your relationship had.”

“We did.” Both women were startled by Mina’s voice and turned to see her standing in the doorway. How long had she been there? No one wanted to ask, so after a moment Vanessa resumed her place as hostess and motioned the others to sit. 

“Now, perhaps we should begin by going over the facts of the vampire’s existence, and more specifically the one we seek – Dracula. Particularly his abilities and limitations,” said Vanessa once she and Catriona were settled in with glasses of whiskey. “As I’d been saying earlier, it seems a great many of the stories truly are only stories.”

“Yes, such as the interesting fact that vampires do have reflections.” Catriona smiled at Mina and Vanessa with a warmth and kindness showing she had no hard feelings over the earlier incident. “In fact, given the reputation Dracula has for toying with his victims, I almost think that’s the sort of thing he would flaunt just to show how wrong we’ve all been.”

“What?” Vanessa set her glass down and sat up straighter.

“Well, I just mean that all the accounts from people who’ve met him in various human guises all agree he’s both arrogant and cruel. So it seems to fit, that he’d be teasing us with things like going about during the day when we expect him at night, and perhaps being vain and admiring himself in a mirror when you’d expect him to be unable. You know, to prove he’s an ordinary human. Right before it’s too late. That is, once you actually encounter him, which is the next item --”

“What if I have?” Vanessa’s gaze was unfocused, turned away. She thought of the mirror maze at the carnival, just days ago though it seemed so much longer. She went over every moment of it, tried to recall everything Dr Sweet had said, every expression she’d seen on his face. She couldn’t find any hint that there was anything wrong with him. But the creature who had followed them and accosted her once they were separated – had he had a reflection? She’d been too shocked and angry to bother to look, even though they were surrounded by glass.

“Oh, please tell us what you’re thinking!” Mina pulled her attention back to the room. 

“I’m only confusing myself further. It’s nothing.”

“We have to pursue all possible threads here,” said Catriona. “At least tell us, and maybe one of us can help with whatever you’re confusing yourself over.”

“Very well. Recently, since our mutual friend Mr Lyle suggested I seek out help for my . . . extreme melancholy, I had gone to an alienist – don’t laugh, she’s been a great help – and she suggested I try something new, so I visited a museum, and I met someone and I, well, became involved --”

“’Involved’ romantically you mean?” Mina had another unreadable expression on her face.

“Yes, I’d hoped it was gong that way, but. Last time I saw him I was left alone for just a moment and before I knew it one of those creatures was there, speaking cryptically and it all felt as if the darkness were surrounding me again and it should only endanger others if I tried for anything like a normal life. So I vowed not to see him again. Anyway, this was all in the strangest place; a carnival mirror maze. What you said made me think of it.”

“So you were wondering about the supposed minion?” Catriona went on, “Or you were thinking this man of yours is in fact Dracula’s alter ego?”

“It seems impossible,” said Vanessa, “he’s so . . . .” she gestured vaguely. “And besides, if it were him, why would he leave me alone and have some underling come to harass me? I cannot believe a master vampire would be so inept.”

Mina snorted with laughter. The others turned to her.

“Oh?” Catriona looked far too amused. 

“It’s just. Well, since he’d brought me here, to London, he did go through a time of making so very many others. And I have seen them disobey. The consequences are violent and terrible, but there are so many by now it’s impossible for him to have absolute control over all of them at all times. And it does amuse me to think the swelling ranks of creatures are only causing him trouble now.”

Vanessa smiled back at her. Seeing her friend display such spirit revived her own soul. “And it’s been silly of me to agonize over whether I could have been deceived when you’re right here to tell me things I shouldn’t be able to know. How could I not have thought to ask you, what does his current form look like?”

Mina sighed. “I wish I could be more helpful, but I’d only seen him in the more terrible, true aspect. You know it.”

“Yes.” She shuddered, thinking of the bizarre ratlike creature Sir Malcolm had fought. “But surely there is some hint? Some unchangeable mark or sign I can seek out?”

“Those awful red eyes.” Mina shuddered, her mood again changing abruptly. “I cannot imagine any creature could alter the – the windows to the soul, as they saying would have it. And they would especially stand out so terribly in times of anger or lust. But I may be wrong.”

“Yes, no!” Vanessa said, “It’s just like when Lucifer would appear to me wearing the face of another! His unnatural eyes always showed me who he truly was.”

“So maybe you should go see your new friend again.” Said Catriona. “Just to be sure.”

“Maybe I should,” said Vanessa, “but there is so much beyond that. For example, there should be no confrontation until we’re certain of how to truly kill him.”

The rest of the evening was filled with an occasionally heated discussion of methods of delivering true death that left the trio no closer to being sure of an answer than they had been to begin with. Fire and beheading both seemed promising, but they made no progress in coming up with a practical way of carrying either out. 

When Catriona had said her farewells and Vanessa closed the door behind her, Mina took her hand. “I’ll stay with you tonight, if you don’t mind?”

“Of course I don’t. Please, come upstairs. I would try to adjust to a more nocturnal schedule again but I think I prefer to be asleep before daylight.”

“It’s late enough, and perhaps an answer will come to you in your dreams. You always did have such odd dreams.”

“I still do. But I think I shall rest well knowing you’re there with me.” Vanessa wrapped her arm around Mina’s waist to lead her up the stairs, turning down the gaslight as they withdrew. Nothing could erase the problems she still had to untangle, but the fact that she no longer had to untangle them alone changed everything.


	7. Chapter 7

Vanessa settled into bed first, and watched Mina as she sat again at the dressing table and unpinned her hair. She pulled a long decorative comb out of her hair and held it up.

“Do you remember this? I’d thought it was lost for the longest time. I suppose I eventually gave up looking for it.”

Vanessa was surprised that even with all the dark guilt she’d been carrying she still felt an additional sense of shame at her childhood indiscretion. “Of course I remember. I stole it while you were right there in the room with me. I could never wear it, for fear of getting caught.”

“And you still have it. I found it when I was doing my hair earlier. When you’d gone down to admonish our Thanatologist.”

“It still reminds me of you. Of our childhood. I wish that had been the worst thing I’d ever done to you. Maybe it reminds me that one sin can always be the end of it, that there is no need to sink further from the light because of a single misdeed. Or maybe I only want to believe redemption is still available and that comb makes me think of how simple everything seemed then.”

“And I suppose you did it out of some desire to be closer.”

“Yes. Desire and jealousy. I didn’t know if I wanted to be you, or to steal you like I did that comb and tuck you into a box in my room for myself alone. It was such a thrill to take it though. I would hold it and gloat over it when I was alone.”

Mina gave her a twisted smile. “I do think you’re the one of us better suited to vampirism.”

“I do hope we never have to find out.” As soon as she’d said it Vanessa regretted the careless words. Mina turned away again and began brushing her hair out intently. “Oh, no, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. Please, come here.” Vanessa pulled back the bedclothes to make space at her side.

Mina took her time in finishing brushing her hair, then made her way to the bed and climbed carefully in. The silence was thick and heavy.

“I forget – and I keep forgetting,” said Vanessa, “since you are still so much yourself and so unlike the creatures I’ve faced.” She slid one hand into Mina’s loose wavy hair, and when Mina didn’t resist her touch she pulled her close. “I want you to know I love you as much as I ever did. Nothing that’s been done to you can change that. I will always accept you as you are.”

“You cannot truly know what I am.”

“You can stop hiding it from me.” Vanessa had been waiting for the right time to bring up the difficult topic. “You can tell me what you need.”

“It’s alright, you’ve done so much and I am so much happier now.”

“That isn’t all I mean. Every night Catriona and I settle in and have tea or spirits as we wish. I know you must be hungry . . . or is it thirsty? By now. How can I help?”

Mina pulled away and lay down flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling. The candles threw wavering light and shadow across the white plaster. “I don’t need anything.”

“I can bring you a small animal? Or get fresh blood from a slaughterhouse? What did you do at Catriona’s?”

“Nothing, I don’t need anything.”

“For how long?”

“Forever. Cat wanted to see how long I could go, and if it had any effect, and now it’s been . . . a while, and I’m just fine so that settles it.” Mina’s mouth was drawn into a flat line.

Vanessa could feel the silence grow even heavier, and regretted broaching the topic. No going back now though. If she didn’t follow it all the way through she’d never be brave enough to start it again. “You shouldn’t have to starve. I don’t think you should punish yourself for something you had no choice in.”

“This isn’t me punishing myself!” Mina thumped the mattress with her fists. “Do you know what I’ve done? I’ve killed children – babies – and I hardly remember it now, but I did it. I cannot even say if I was forced to. There is something so awful in me now that if I let it rise up and take over my body I know I risk too much. It will take me over until I commit the worst kinds of murders and I will be reduced to a tiny corner of my own mind, observing and powerless to stop it.”

Vanessa thought again of all the stories she’d read and how wrong they had turned out to be. “So. That is the only way? To kill?”

“It’s all I’ve known. And the worst thing is, I think I didn’t fight it hard enough.”

The silence fell again, Vanessa aware of how still Mina’s body was next to her, as if she were imitating a corpse. 

“There is no sense in regretting what we’ve done. Even if it seems too terrible for words. And I am not convinced you need constantly fear going back to those dark times.”

“Weren’t you just talking about the need not to sink further from the light? I’ve done more than a single sin, and I don’t even know if either of our churches could imagine such things. Maybe yours. It’s more superstitious. Arcane.” 

“If there is no guidance for these things, we will have to make our own path.” Vanessa wanted desperately to reach out again, to smooth the deep furrows from Mina’s brow.

“My path involves not murdering anyone.”

“I can support you in that. But is that truly the only way?”


	8. Chapter 8

The silence that had settled once it was clear Mina was done discussing the topic of feeding made Vanessa’s sleep uneasy. It was a palpable thing, filling the space between their bodies and swelling until it felt as if Vanessa would be pushed all the way out of the bed. 

The following day she resolved not to bring it up again, and they gradually settled into a more comfortable silence, spending the afternoon reading in the library. Mina was absorbed in a novel, while Vanessa worked her way through one of the books Catriona had left for her. As she read deeper into the accounts of creatures that dwell in darkness, she found it impossible not to glance up at her friend. The day was dark enough they’d lit the gaslight, and the warm glow made Mina seem more alive, in a cozy domestic sense. She looked like she would be baking bread and saying a bedtime prayer later. There was no trace of the snarling red-eyed visage she’d shown in the past. She’d been like a woman possessed in those times. Vanessa thought of how she’d felt during her own possession. Aware of the awful things she was saying, but from a distant corner of her own mind. Watching herself as her body struggled and contorted, but unable to regain any sort of control. She considered again the fact that Dracula and Lucifer were brothers, and that knowing this might give her some insight she’d overlooked before. Sir Malcolm had tried arguing that the thing he’d encountered in his room that night had not truly been Mina, but she couldn’t have been an empty vessel, either. 

Catriona may have been testing her limits, but she couldn’t have known Mina well enough to test her essential self. And if the thing inside her had truly not been herself, perhaps her guilt was even more unfounded than Vanessa had suggested last night. She was the only one close enough to Mina to know, to be able to promise her that she was still Mina and that the awful thing inside her was not. Was she a haunted house now, unaware of her own indwelling spirit? And wasn’t she looking a little thin, despite her warm cozy glow?

That night, Mina paused in the hall as they passed the room she’d chosen for herself. 

“Please, forgive me.” Vanessa took her friend’s hand, but it hung limp in her own. “I cannot imagine what you’ve been through, and I do not want you to suffer those memories. You can keep them locked away as long as you like, and perhaps one day you will want to take them out and look them over. But for now, please come to bed.”

“It’s so early. I only followed you up out of boredom. I cannot stand any more reading, but I am hardly tired.” 

“Then we can take time getting ready. I can brush your hair. You can tell me about the book you spent the afternoon in.”

“So long as you don’t try to tell me about your book,” said Mina, “unless it gave you some hope that we have a way forward?”

Although her tone was light and joking, Vanessa could see a flash of true hope cross Mina’s face. She couldn’t possibly tell her that the day’s research made everything seem even more hopeless. “It was somewhat dry, but I won’t discount any knowledge that may help us later. Jane Austen, however?”

Mina grasped the hand that circled her own and moved on toward the end of the hall. “I don’t know why, but in all this darkness I find it comforting to read something so light and diverting.”

The conversation remained light as they settled in, helping one another with their outer garments and then moving on to the dressing table. Mina sat before the mirror with no fear or wonder at its surface, and Vanessa pulled the pins out of her hair to free it in thick golden waves down her back. 

“Do you want to count?” she asked before the first stroke of the brush.

“I can’t help but count in my head,” Mina laughed, “when I was a child do you know I was sure if it wasn’t a full hundred something awful would happen? I never said, since I thought you would laugh at me. And you seemed not to care at all. You were always leaving tangles at the back of your own hair.”

“I can’t help that. My hair tangles easily.” Vanessa looked down at the glossy waves as her brush slid over them, the soft hushing sound soothing. “And I got so tired of brushing it then. There was always a part of me that hated the idea that I would have to be a certain sort of woman. Proper. Good. Pretty.”

“But you turned out to be the most beautiful . . . .” Mina’s eyes in the mirror seemed soft and far away.

“I always thought you were.” Vanessa slowed her strokes even more, using her free hand to gather Mina’s hair and pull it back, closer to her. A few final brushstrokes collected the loose strands and she divided the handful to plait it. “I suppose much of our youth was spent admiring each other and never speaking of it.”

“I tried so hard to be good. Wasn’t it strange, that you could be so daring but I worried endlessly over any small infraction? Even a bad thought?” Mina smiled in a more knowing way than Vanessa was used to seeing on her. “Even a bad thing you started?”

Vanessa’s heart sank and she paused in her plaiting. What could Mina be referring to? She saw worry crease her own brow in her reflection.

“Oh, don’t worry!” Mina laughed, sounding girlish and delighted. “I know now it wasn’t truly a bad thing. It’s just, at the time, when we were so young . . . .”

“You shall have to tell me which bad thing you are speaking of.” Vanessa’s voice was almost a whisper. She looked down and continued twining the locks of hair together. “I seem to remember being a most difficult child.”

“When you kissed me.” Mina’s own voice was lower, quieter, and every trace of her earlier mirth had given way to seriousness.

“Oh --” Oh.

“I know you said, that first time, we should practice. That we might as well know what it would be like. But I hadn’t expected it to be what it was. It was so much, I felt like there was so much energy in my body that I would die of it, all while I was more alive than I ever had been before.” Mina stopped abruptly.

“And why should there ever be guilt there?” Vanessa had reached the end of the plait and let it drop, watching it brush Mina’s waist. 

“Something that felt so good, so shockingly much. It had to be wrong. Or else everyone would talk about it. It felt secret, like no one else had ever known of it before, like had discovered a new forbidden art. How could something so incredible ever belong to me? That feeling was too powerful to have been my own.”

“That day you never said anything after. And you never asked to do it again, until --”

“Until we were finally old enough to be allowed wine at Christmas that year and I attacked you in the hall.”

“I wouldn’t have called that an attack.” 

Their eyes met in the mirror. 

“I always blamed it on having had a whole glass of wine to drink. Even though I knew in my heart I was lying to myself.” Mina turned on the small seat and rose. Standing, she was too close but Vanessa didn’t want to back away. “Maybe there are things I can’t speak of now, but that doesn’t mean I need continue lying to myself.”

They had been exactly the same height since the year they both turned seventeen. Face to face and so close,Vanessa could see directly into Mina’s dark eyes, this time looking not like empty tunnels but like deep pools full of her own soul. Does Mina still have a soul? Vanessa pushed the thought away, waiting to see what would happen next. Mina blinked once, and closed the space between them. Their lips only brushed at first, Mina pausing and waiting for Vanessa to respond before kissing her hard and deep. All the longing and sadness of the years welled up and brought a desperation to it. Mina’s hands closed on Vanessa’s waist, and she pushed her back toward the bed. Vanessa fell across it and reached up for her to join, but Mina paused. 

“Is something wrong?” Vanessa rose on one elbow and frowned at her friend’s sudden dark look. 

“I don’t know what I’m doing. We should stop.”

“Stop if you like, but it felt to me as if you know very well what to do.” Vanessa tried to keep her tone light, but she felt chaotic at the sense that after waiting so long for this it could be snatched away from her once more.

“No, not like that.” Mina crawled onto the bed and crouched over Vanessa. “I could kiss you again. All night. But I do not know if I can stand the . . . other.”

Vanessa raised an eyebrow. “You can keep your nightdress on. And I promise not to try and get under it.”

“No, I mean . . . what you offered me last night. I am hungry, though it pains me to say it, and I don’t want an animal or a violent encounter with some innocent. But it’s more than hunger as you know it. Oh, I hope you never have to suffer like this!”

“Are you saying you would prefer blood from someone who is willing?” Vanessa tilted her chin back and looked languidly up at Mina.

“It’s awful. It’s disgusting how good it can feel.”

“Mina, you sound like you just did when you were recalling our youthful kiss. And you know better now. Let yourself feel this, and let it be a thing separate from anything that might have happened before you came back to me.”

“I’ll hurt you.”

“You know how strong I am.”

Mina leaned forward, resting on her elbows over Vanessa. “I could kill you.”

“You won’t.” Vanessa reached up and wrapped her arm around Mina’s neck.

“How can you know?”

“I have my own powers now. I wouldn’t let you kill me, not like this. Not when I want to be alive through it all. Awake and aware.” She tightened her grip and gently drew Mina closer. As soon as the tension left Mina’s neck, Vanessa pulled her in for another kiss, slow and leisurely this time. She felt the heat growing again, only stronger now as Mina’s last shred of resistance left her. Slowly she broke away and arched her head back, guiding Mina’s head lower until her mouth brushed against her throat. She sighed and relaxed into it, curious what it might feel like. She was prepared for pain, but when Mina opened her mouth against Vanessa’s skin and bit down it felt like her whole body had been filled with heated waves, filling each limb with heightened sensation. Pleasure flowed through her veins until she felt the bounds of her skin could no longer contain her. Mina paused there, but Vanessa grasped her desperately, pressing her on. 

The encouragement reassured Mina, and the blood filling her mouth felt more right than it ever had before. But Mina couldn’t think of any other time she’d done this – it was all so far from her mind and this was all that mattered now. She rolled onto Vanessa to hold her in place and pressed down harder, no longer worried about being gentle as she sucked hard at her, pulling the flesh into her mouth and running her tongue over the flowing wetness. Faster, and deeper, as her lips ran feverishly over the open skin, she was as consumed with desire as she ever had been with fear and revulsion. 

She finally loosened her grip and pulled slightly away. Vanessa was limp under her, making her panic for a second, but it was only momentary exhaustion and not true death. Mina sighed and lapped softly at the open wounds she’d left, seeing the last drops of blood had stopped in time for Vanessa to be safe. She’d lost herself in it, but there had been nothing to fear and everything to gain. 

“Are you alright?” It would be best if she could hear it from Vanessa directly.

“Of course – more than alright I would say.” Vanessa brushed at the strands that had worked their way free of Mina’s plait with a pale hand. “I would never have thought it would be like that.”

“It isn’t, usually.” A shadow crossed Mina’s face, warning Vanessa not to ask anything further, but there was no need. Mina tilted her head to one side. “In fact, this was . . . indescribable. It must be different when there is love as part of it. You taste so incredible, so much richer and deeper than anything in the world. Like a magic elixir.” She giggled at her fanciful imagination and shook her head. 

The two moved under the covers and twined as close as if they were strands in the same plait. Vanessa felt warm and sleepy, and drifted off thinking of Mina’s words. Magic. Because she was. How had she not been thinking of it all along? But what a perfect way to be reminded.


	9. Chapter 9

“Vanessa, you really should put on something with a higher neckline before Catriona gets here.” Mina had been up for hours, preparing food for that night’s meeting and making the drawing room as cozy as possible. She’d even added a hat to the grim lion’s head on the stairs, giving it a festive look. She was so full of energy she seemed ready to sprint all the way to the source of the Nile and back. Vanessa, in contrast, had slept in and still felt groggy, like a shadow cast by Mina’s bright flame. She regarded her friend.

“Why, do you think we should hide this from her?” She lazily stroked her neck, the punctures on it already fading as they began to heal. “I am not at all ashamed, and I believe you are beginning to accept yourself as you are now.”

“I don’t want her to think I’m a danger to you.”

Vanessa walked languidly to Mina where she had paused in rearranging the throw pillows on the sofa. “And are you a danger to me? Do you think you might, at any moment . . . attack!” On the final word she pushed Mina back onto the sofa and knelt over her. She pulled her loose hair back and nudged Mina’s throat, whispering, “or perhaps it is I who will be a danger to you? I can also bite . . . .” she tried to demonstrate but ended up giggling as she lost her balance and fell forward to wrap her arms around a much less amused Mina. 

“You’re in an awfully lighthearted mood for someone who could have died last night. And who should be recovering right now.”

“Oh, very well,” said Vanessa as she rolled off to the side and leaned back against the sofa’s arm. “I shall lay back and concentrate on recovering from my ordeal.”

“It’s not a joke, you’re probably quite anaemic now. Here, I made you beef tea.” Mina rose to bring over a tray she’d had ready on the side table. She took a mug from it and held it out to Vanessa. 

“Mmm, invalid food. You’re terribly romantic.” Vanessa smiled as she took the mug, wrapping her hands around its warm sides. 

“It’s unnatural how energized I feel. Like I ate your entire soul. I worry about you.”

“No need to worry. In fact, if you don’t mind me discussing it, there may be something to our present entanglement beyond our emotional bond. It gives me another reason to be happy today -- I believe there’s been a change in my unique condition.”

Mina gave her a stern look and Vanessa sipped at the beef tea before going on. “I don’t know how much you already know from your time – earlier --”

“I’d prefer to hear it from you anyway,” said Mina, suppressing a shudder. Despite all the light and joy that had grown between them, it would be a long time before she could think of earlier events without feeling an unsettilng chill.

Vanessa took another sip of tea, more pleased than she’d have expected by Mina’s approving look. She tried to remember if her mother had ever been so attentive through any of her illnesses. 

“You already know something of this, but it would be best if I am clear, from the beginning. For years now, I have been stalked by another. Not just Dracula, but Lucifer has taken an oppressive interest in me. I’ve spoken of this before, but there are details I did not want to say aloud. It was he who found me first. He was there, that awful night I betrayed you.”

Mina looked away, her face falling again. Vanessa bristled at the fact that their newfound happy domestic life should keep being interrupted by things that would hurt her. But it was best if there were no secrets now. Hadn’t she thought that, over and over, both when she believed her friend to be lost and now that they were finding their way back to closeness? She drank some more of the bland liquid and set down her cup.

“I have, since then, been inclined to have adventures from time to time. Why shouldn’t I? But it seems that allows him a way back to me. Not that long ago I met a young man who seemed he’d be entertaining. But that night, when I let myself enjoy him, it was Lucifer’s voice I heard and afterwards, I was unwell for an extended period. I was possessed, taken over, for once he has found a way in my mind is not my own. I had worried about it happening again, with this other man I mentioned, but things never got that far. Anyway, last night there was no intrusion. No unwelcome visitor, only us two.”

“Maybe it’s because I am already damned.” Mina was wary of Vanessa’s automatic assumption that the change must be a good sign.

“Or maybe Lucifer only cares about me being with men. Isn’t that always the way?”

“Well, it would be best if we could focus on Dracula now and not have to worry about fighting the literal Devil as well.”

“That’s the spirit! I may be slightly weakened from last night but honestly, the ability to feel pleasure again without rousing the forces of Hell has done me more good than I can say.”

Mina sat down on the sofa and took Vanessa’s hand. “It’s done me good too – and you had a theory about that?”

“Yes, but I want to wait until Catriona is here. It may be useful in our battle.” Vanessa squeezed Mina’s hand and smiled. “Now, let me finish this most restoring beverage and I will go put on something more modest before our guest arrives.”

In the end, Mina decided to tell Catriona about the night before – leaving out certain details she preferred to keep between herself and Vanessa. 

“That was incredibly reckless on both your parts,” mused Catriona, leaning back in her chair and swirling the whiskey in her glass, “I’m impressed!”

“The important thing is – in addition to anything you may want to add to your research notes – I was able to . . . do it without losing myself.” Mina looked shy but proud, hands folded neatly in her lap. She was intensely aware of Vanessa beside her on the sofa, sitting so close their outer thighs pressed alongside one another through their skirts.

“Shame,” said Catriona, “I find that part the most fun.”

Mina could no longer blush, but she still felt that she was. “I mean, I had worried that it would leave me open to . . . being taken over again. That he’d sense me and know somehow.” Vanessa wrapped a supportive arm around her and pulled her against her shoulder. 

Mina took strength from the embrace. “It was always such a vile thing, back then. Every time. The way he’d watch me . . . .”

Vanessa and Catriona exchanged a glance. Let her talk as much as she needs to. In her own time. Mina nestled deeper into Vanessa’s shoulder. “It was almost the worst part of it. But this is so promising!” Her mood shifted again, and she sat up straight. “It may mean I am truly free!”

“We all hope so, but I won’t feel certain of it until this is over,” said Vanessa.

“And on that note, let’s get back to strategy,” said Catriona. “Vanessa, have you thought any more about checking further into that man you were seeing?”

Vanessa glanced over at Mina and furrowed her brow, then back at Catriona. “I had hardly thought of it lately. I don’t like the idea that I could be exposing an innocent to any of this darkness, as I’d said.”

“Well I still think it’s a good idea. The whole thing seems like too much of a coincidence. Look at my research notes here; a reliable source has it that Dracula has dominion over and a strange affinity for nocturnal animals.”

“By that logic, anyone with an interest in the natural sciences would be a suspect.” She paused, and thought bleakly of her childhood fascination with just the sorts of creatures that might fall under such a category. “Still, I could go. Meet him alone. Perhaps I’d learn more that way?” She gave Mina a sidelong glance to see how she was taking this idea. 

“But what if that puts you in danger?” Mina showed no trace of jealousy; her voice was tinged with worry. “Not just on the odd chance that he is Dracula, but what if . . . there is other darkness waiting for you?”

“If he is Dracula, he won’t want to kill me. Not right away, I’ll have time. And if Lucifer turns up again, it’s nothing I haven’t survived before.” Vanessa shrugged carelessly.

“And then what will we do? We already know you can’t expect to just, I don’t know, shoot him,” said Catriona. “Maybe a sword? I think beheading will work. Do you think you can manage a sword?”

“I have a better idea,” said Vanessa. “Mina helped me think of it.”

Mina raised her eyebrow in question.

“You see, although you may laugh at the idea, I am something of a witch.”

“I would never laugh at such things,” said Catriona, “I had quite the affair with a witch once. Of course, she was also an ancient Egyptian queen who’d managed to reincarnate herself -- and her new incarnation came with a husband who did not approve of the situation.” Catriona sighed, a faraway look in her eyes, “Oh, Margaret. if only . . . .”

Mina cleared her throat, interrupting Catriona’s fond memories.

“Ah, yes, so we use witchcraft!” Catriona nodded vigorously.

“Yes. We’ll need some help. I’ll send for Dr. Frankenstein – he’s the one who’d been working with us earlier --”

“The resurrection man?” asked Catriona.

“He was working amongst them for a time, yes. I’m pleased you already know him. It’s best we keep this circle as small and secretive as possible. Now, let me tell you about the things I learned while I was in the West Country.”


	10. Chapter 10

The following night, uneasy over being in the house alone, Mina sat up as long as she could, which for her meant no sleep at all. She had insisted she’d be just fine if Catriona left her – it might only be a few hours, and at most a single night. She’d be fine. It was time she learned to be on her own again, and the late events had given her more confidence than she’d have thought possible. She could manage staying in while Vanessa had what, as the hour grew late, Mina realized must be quite an adventure. She tried reading, then switched books, then gave up entirely. She drifted from her room to the one she and Vanessa had by unspoken agreement begun to share. 

As the sun rose she felt the usual lassitude and heaviness that came along with it, and drifted into a half-waking state. It was calm and easy, but she shook herself fully awake after only a moment. Something was somehow wrong. She resisted the urge to try and call out to Vanessa’s mind, although she’d only grown more curious over how close their bond might be now. But she couldn’t risk it. Not now, not when they may be close to being safe and free at last, together.

When Vanessa finally came through the heavy front door, smiling and humming to herself, Mina made her way down the stairs to meet her and stopped short a few steps from the bottom. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. She tried to call out but could only manage a tiny huff of breath as her throat felt constricted in pain.

“Oh, Mina.” Vanessa’s wide smile faded as she took in the distress radiating from the other woman. “I thought we had an agreement about this. I thought you said our bond was too strong now for anything to harm it?” She shrugged her rumpled coat off and threw it haphazardly over a chair. “And I hope you know I don’t love you any less. I could never.”

“I know.” Mina’s voice was a forced whisper.

“Well, even if we need to revisit our expectations for one another, you’ll be happy to know our Dr. Sweet is after all a completely ordinary man – well, maybe not completely ordinary – but certainly human. And as for being ordinary or not, do you know, I have already thought that there could be hope, that, well, I asked some leading questions and revealed some of my own dark past, and do you know he went into the most heartfelt speech about the strange and shunned creatures, the ones that cannot help their natures and are hated for what they are? I think eventually I could bring him here and you could meet. I know it’s unconventional, but --”

“How could you --” Mina had finally found her breath and taken one more step down.

“Really, is this a moral judgment, or are you jealous?” Vanessa crossed the floor, reaching out to comfort Mina. “I would never have done it if I’d known I’d hurt you again! I honestly thought we were beyond such things. But can you try? I think you’d like him.”

“No!” As Vanessa moved closer Mina retreated back up the stairs. 

Vanessa sighed and stepped back. “If you need time – if you need to be away from me --”

“No, you – how could you – how could you not --” As Mina struggled with her words she twisted her hands together and glanced about with wide panicking eyes. Vanessa wanted desperately to go to her and comfort her, shocked at the extremity of her reaction, but stayed back. She couldn’t stand the sight of her dearest love backing away from her. Finally Mina caught her breath and, clutching the banister for support, said, “It was HIM, it was him all along and you never knew! How?” She lost her breath again and turned away.

“What?” The crazed emotions wracking Mina’s body made more sense, but still “. . .Dracula?” Vanessa immediately regretted saying it, as Mina winced and squeezed the banister tighter. “No, how can that be? I was there all night – alone, obviously, and he never tried . . . and I would have  
noticed . . . .” It must be a sleepless night and the stress of their work taking their toll. She tried again to move close, to offer reassurance that everything would be all right, but Mina only backed away again.

“I do not blame you. I’m not angry with you over it. But, please, I --” Mina’s voice was a raw whisper as she struggled to speak. “I know this. I can smell him on you.”

Vanessa had reached the foot of the stairs but she froze at Mina’s words. 

“Oh.”

Mina’s face twisted into dry tearless grief. She brought her hands up to cover her eyes. “I could have lost you. I could still lose you. And I cannot stand --”

They both stood, each needing the comfort of the other but Mina’s terror at the familiar scent with all its awful memories pushed them apart with such force Vanessa thought of all the times her spirit had visited only to be cruelly pulled away. 

As the silence bore down upon them, Mina let her hands drop to her sides again. Vanessa looked up at her, her brow drawn in determination. 

“I’m going to bathe. And then, we know what we shall do next.”

Mina nodded. She looked so lost again, but Vanessa willed her to feel some of her own anger and vengeful spirit at having been deceived, to let it shore her up against this horrific despair. Mina slowly crept down the stairs, giving Vanessa a wide berth and a sad smile.

“I’ll send for Dr. Frankenstein, then,” she said as she headed for the drawing room.

“Yes, please do. I’ll be down as soon as I can.” Vanessa wanted nothing more than to hold Mina, to tell her they would be victorious, to promise they’d have endless days, and years, stretching before them with no threat of subjugation casting a shadow on their joy. Inwardly, she felt a chill. How the monster had maintained such a convincing lie even in the extremity of passion baffled her. For the first time, she wondered if there truly was hope, or if she’d been building her own wall of lies around her soul, to keep from admitting she’d already lost everything.


	11. Chapter 11

Dr. Frankenstein proved difficult to reach, so most of the final strategy was devised between Vanessa, Mina, and Catriona before he turned up at the front door, leather bags full of the necessary instruments. He mumbled an apology about having an ongoing project with a colleague at Bedlam and listened patiently as the women took turns outlining their ideas. 

“So Vanessa is going alone into the darkness, as it were,” he said at length once silence had fallen. 

“None of us like it,” said Catriona, “but none of us can think of another way.”

“You did mention beheading a few nights ago,” said Mina.

“Are you having second thoughts? Do you suppose it would be better if we all gather weapons and storm the museum?” Catriona’s smile quirked to suggest she would not be against trying it.

“No,” said Vanessa, “I swore I wouldn’t put anyone else in danger, and that sort of attack is too reckless. All this is because of me, so I should be the one to shoulder the risk.”

“And you think this will work?” Frankenstein was fiddling with a lancet, betraying his nerves.

“It must,” said Vanessa taking Mina’s hand and squeezing it.

“Isn’t there as much a risk to Mina? I’m sorry, I can see you’re . . . unusually gifted, but even so . . . .” Frankenstein trailed off, gesturing toward the pale woman.

“I’m already dead you mean? Oh, don’t look like that. I suspect you’ve seen some very odd things in your own practice, haven’t you? No, I am happy to do it, just as we discussed. My only request is that we wait until tomorrow night.”

“Why?” asked Frankenstein, “is there some additional magical significance to it being a Tuesday?”

Mina smiled shyly. “No, I mean, I’m not sure; that would be Vanessa’s area of expertise. I only want to have one more night alone. Just in case everything does go wrong, and it’s the last.”

Vanessa wrapped an arm around Mina and pulled her close. “One more night, and then I’ll only be away for a little while. And then there will be so many nights we shall lose count.” Mina’s head was tucked into Vanessa’s shoulder so she couldn’t see the drawn look, the worry the others could so clearly read. 

Catriona and Frankenstein agreed to remain at the house, in case Sir Malcolm and Ethan made their way back from their various adventures, the things that had drawn them away and left Vanessa vulnerable and alone. Vanessa left the two with a stern admonishment to tell the men what they needed to but to ensure that no one else follow her into harm’s way. They agreed, and left to collect their things in preparation to settle in to the house, giving Mina and Vanessa the rest of the night alone together. The last night, as everyone knew but no one wanted to say, before Vanessa would seek out Dracula and give herself to him.

Mina was slow in joining Vanessa upstairs, and she was so obviously unsettled Vanessa wanted to tell her she’d changed her mind, that they would instead leave, go to America, find a way to hide. But that would only make the nightmare they were both stuck in last longer. 

“How am I going to find you?” Mina finally asked, her voice small and weak. She sat on the edge of the bed, not meeting Vanessa’s eye.

Vanessa sat on the other side of the bed, then drew her legs up to curl herself in the center. She watched the back of Mina’s head, dipped down with the weight of the past few nights. “I will call you,” she said. “I will send my spirit as you once did, and you will hear.” 

“I know,” said Mina. “I know we’ve talked about it, but the doctor was right, this evening. There is too much risk. So much could go wrong.”

“So much already has gone wrong,” said Vanessa, reaching up to run a hand over Mina’s loose hair. “and yet, here we are.”

Mina leaned over until she was laying on her side, her back to Vanessa. “I was always able to find you, before. Are you certain you’ll be able to do the same?”

Vanessa rolled over so they were back to back. “Open your mind to me. I will show you how clear you can hear me.”

“No, I can’t do that.” Mina drew her knees up and held them to her chest, tense with the defenses that by now were as natural to her as breathing. “I’ll hear you when the time comes. We mustn’t invite danger now, when there’s no need.”

“Invite only me. Listen.” Vanessa’s voice was low and soothing. Mina wanted to be lulled by it, to let herself drift into the hypnotic state she used to find herself in a lifetime ago, when she would listen with fascination to Vanessa’s stories. But not now. Not when she knew just how dangerous it would be to allow her mind to open.

“Listen, listen and tell me so I know how well you hear,” Vanessa murmured.

Mina considered letting only Vanessa’s thoughts into her mind. She doubted it would be possible to be so selective, to open up only in exactly the right way for Vanessa, leaving herself impervious to attack. 

“There cannot be a happy end,” she murmured, “For claw will slash and tooth will rend.” Why was she thinking such dark things? And yet the words were so familiar. 

The room was silent, and Mina was drawn deeper into the soft sound of Vanessa’s breath. She felt herself drifting along with it as she continued. “Yet we shall write our end anew. My love, my love, be brave and true.”

Mina had closed her eyes, and kept them shut, finding no terror in the dark. In the soft lull of Vanessa’s inhale and exhale, she crept along the space between them. Not the space in the room, the sliver of empty bed in between their spines, but the hollow space of the demimonde that they both traversed so fluidly. She felt Vanessa there, and no one else.

Turn now, turn over and look at me.

Both women rolled toward the center of the bed as one, and opened their eyes to lock gazes. 

“Those words,” said Mina, “are somehow familiar. Are they from one of those awful German books you tormented me with when we were nine?”

Vanessa laughed. “No, but they were how I found you, once. In the theatre. Some doggerel from a gory melodrama. At least the first part. The second verse was mine.”

“I prefer yours.” 

Vanessa responded by pulling Mina close and kissing her, slowly and thoroughly. She couldn’t think it would be the last, for then she would never stop. She had to come back, and know that the next kiss would be one of victory and celebration.

***

Catriona stayed with Mina once Vanessa had left, distracting her with thousands of questions and taking avid notes for her ongoing research. Still, nothing could keep Vanessa’s absence from filling the house and weighing on Mina, exhausting her with worry when she was awake, and keeping her from sleep on the occasions she attempted it. Later, she’d never be able to guess how much time had passed; although it was only a scant few days, the time blended into one long anxious nightmare. It was nearly impossible even to tell when it was day or night, since the night Vanessa had left ended with a heavy miasma settling over London. Mina would catch herself peeking around the curtains, feeling the foreboding that the unwholesome atmosphere was a sentient thing, here to devour everything, that it already had devoured Vanessa and that her lingering hope, her memories of the reassurances that it would all come out right were only a form of madness.

When she finally did hear the call, drifting somewhere between wakefulness and sleep on the drawing room sofa, it was nothing like their earlier attempt. She had the sense that Vanessa was only half there, hurried and distracted. Her mind filled with words and images, enough to give her clear instructions, and Mina reached for the closeness she’d longed for, the sense of being home and together. Vanessa withdrew with what felt like an admonition to be careful, leaving Mina overwhelmed with anxiety. She was ready to go in minutes.

A determination she’d never felt in life propelled Mina all the way to the abandoned slaughterhouse Vanessa had directed her to, but she faltered at the entrance. She ducked around a corner to check and recheck all her things, then took a nervous peek with her inner vision for Vanessa. There was nothing there, and she didn’t dare to send her spirit out and look further. She felt suddenly alone, and found herself doubting everything. She only had to go in, find Vanessa, and leave. She had a clear path to the chamber she was in, and everything relied on her making that short final leg of her journey. But he was also in there, somewhere. And that was enough to make her want to turn around and go home. Why had she agreed to this? Vanessa knew she wasn’t brave like her. She wrapped her dark coat closer as she huddled against the wall and watched a family of rats scurry past. She thought of how determined Vanessa had looked before she left, and of how distant and thready her spirit had felt when she finally reached out. If she stayed here, crouching fearfully and watching rats, they’d only be alone in the darkness. Better to navigate it together.


	12. Chapter 12

Mina had managed to move through the building with enough stealth to avoid the crawling, hunched creatures that infested it. Vanessa insisted she go right back out the same way and return to safety, promising it would all be over soon and they’d be back in their own home. Mina worried that she’d agreed a little too readily, torn between the horror of seeing the most vibrant and spirited woman she’d ever met so diminished and hollow and the revulsion the place inspired in her. She had hurried down to the first landing and was about to cross the walkway to the final descent to the exit when she met Dracula. 

He’d been going to opposite way, and they both froze, his face briefly transformed by surprise before settling back into coldness. 

“Vanessa?” His eyes narrowed as he caught the scent of the bottle dangling from Mina’s hand. She glanced down at the coiled tubing, the needle still wet with lingering drops of blood. She’d been in such a hurry she’d forgotten she was still carrying it.

“No, it’s Mina,” she said, surprised she was able to speak at all. She felt her voice catch and all the breath leave her, and then well up stronger than before as she went on. “And I would know you no matter what face you wore.”

“I saw you die. I felt it.”Dracula seemed intrigued by her impossible reappearance.

“Perhaps you kept me too close for too long, imbued me with too much of your own influence; it made me harder to kill in the end.” 

“An interesting idea. Come here; I am still your master.”

“No. You aren’t.” Mina couldn’t work out which impulse to follow. Run? Scream? Faint? The urgency to do something pulled her in so many directions she felt a panic rising, and then her mind was taken over once again. She felt a pressure inside her head like the atmospheric change before a storm and then she had a sickening sense of him being inside her, willing her to relinquish control over her body and her thoughts. She wavered on her feet, struggling to stay up.

“But I am, and you have come back to me.” He took a step closer, smug with triumph as Mina lost her hold on herself. Her hand opened and the bottle crashed to the floor, the last traces of blood released to fill the atmosphere with a heady aroma. Everything grew darker still around them. “You soft little thing, did you think I was unaware of your perverse desires? Stay, and you can be with us both. Vanessa will be pleased with you.”

Mina tried to reach out to the wall behind her in a final losing attempt to stay upright. She felt her hand miss the wall and was aware of her body falling, as if she were observing from a distance, but then she was lifted and held by forces she could not name. Her senses returned, and she regained her lost hope when she heard the one voice that was as familiar as her own.

“Of course I am pleased with her. And whose desires are you calling perverse?”

Vanessa stood a few steps above them, pausing in her descent from her upper room to take in the scene with a scowl. Dracula looked up at her in awe and sunk to his knees, waves of darkness flowing in to press him down.

“Beloved . . . .” He reached a hand forward, which she ignored. “What is this? You are darker still, Mother of Evil, and something other.”

“Yes,” Vanessa said as she took the last few steps down. She was vibrant with energy, somehow both dark and bright at the same time, both flame and midnight. Her skin and her eyes seemed to glow with it, the fingertips of her one exposed hand describing arcane patterns around her as she walked. “This is my power. But you knew that. You knew that when you were devouring it, sucking it all away so that I would be empty of it.”

“That was never my intention! I made you more perfectly yourself, and now – you are stunning. I want nothing more than to serve you as you are.”

Vanessa smiled. It was hollow and chilling. “You made me as you are, yes, but what of the thing I already was? The weird wisdom I carried in the serpent blood that had already awakened in me? That was mine – my own strength, my own special mark, my destiny. You thought you could take that away!” Her smile widened, showing more teeth. “And look how easily I am restored. You of all people should be more familiar with modern medical sciences.”

She moved forward, her gown trailing behind her. Mina had felt Dracula withdraw all attempts at control as soon as Vanessa had appeared, and now she stood again under her own power as she watched, fascinated, at this newly reborn Vanessa stalking ahead with an eerie grace. 

When she reached the spot where Dracula knelt, the whole world seemed to pause, like the hollow between waves as they move to the shore. Downstairs, sounds of a commotion began, but Vanessa ignored them as she freed the hand she’d kept hidden from her voluminous sleeve, revealing a simple hawthorn branch, sharpened at one end. She raised both her arms, singing, chanting, whispering things that few living souls would have known. She was joined by whispers drifting in the air, invisible forces coming across the veil to her call. 

Mina caught her breath as Vanessa sprung forward and down, knocking Dracula over. Her free hand pressed his shoulder down, her knee pinning one leg as she struck with the hawthorn. The point tore through his clothing and glanced off a rib. He snarled and tried to push her away, but the swirling darkness bore down on him and kept him supine. All the anger left his face and he looked up at Vanessa softly.

“This is not what you want, my love.”

“Oh, but it is.”

Vanessa drew back and lunged forward again with an animal cry, this time sliding her stake between ribs and nearing his heart. Mina dug through her full skirts to find her hidden pocket and withdrew a knife. She crossed the landing to crouch down near Dracula’s head. Vanessa glanced up at her, then at the knife she’d purloined from Sir Malcolm’s extensive collection, a massive curved blade from somewhere in India. Her initial surprise was replaced by a smile of approval, then she shifted her weight forward to thrust the stake further. Dracula reached up to her, confusion and anger mingled in his expression.

“Lie back,” said Mina in a teasing voice, “it is useless to struggle, and it will only hurt more if you do.”

Vanessa looked up at the unfamiliar edge in Mina’s voice to see her eyes shining and glowing red, her gaze intent on Dracula’s face but also distant, deep in her own memory. She drew back her lips to show her long sharp fangs, then brought the knife down hard on his neck. Blood immediately spurted forth, and Mina lifted the knife again to hack deeper as Vanessa thrust again and again until his heart was pierced completely through. With one final blow of the knife, Dracula’s head lolled back, completely detached. At the same moment Vanessa broke through his chest, the point of the hawthorn grinding into the floor beneath. 

As Dracula’s body disintegrated with a terrible sound, the echo of gunshots from below intensified, drawing the women away to see what could possibly be happening.


	13. Chapter 13

The group assembled in the main room was fighting in earnest; Catriona, Dr Seward, and Sir Malcolm were in the center facing outward, guns firing, while Frankenstein hid behind a stack of crates attempting to reload his pistol with shaking hands. Ethan in his fierce wolf persona was fighting his way in from the periphery accompanied by an older gray wolf-man. 

Catriona hardly paused her shooting to look to either side. Sir Malcolm and Dr Seward were holding their own, but the creatures around them were getting closer. There seemed to be no end to them. A darkness fell across the room, and all at once every single creature turned in unison like a flock of birds and fell to all fours, heads bowing low. Catriona kept her gun at the ready but turned in the same direction as the now-meek flock.

Above them on the walkway stood Vanessa, arms raised as if in benediction, Mina close by her side. Both women were spattered in blood and Mina held a massive knife relaxed at her side, slowly dripping red. Vanessa brought her arms slowly down and the masses of bodies pressed lower, whispering mother, mother, in strained elation. Dr Seward and Malcolm lowered their weapons and Frankenstein dropped his entirely, all staring in disbelief at the two. Vanessa turned and descended the stairs, slow and stately, her tattered gown trailing behind her. Mina followed, and when they reached the bottom they both looked around at the ranks of Dracula’s minions, picking their way through the masses to meet the cluster of mortals in the center. As Vanessa passed by the creatures scuttled back and bowed lower, moans of adoration following in her wake. The two wolf-men had paused in their slaughter as soon as the sudden shift had happened, and transformed back to their appearance as ordinary men to rejoin the group. 

“I distinctly recall asking that no one else be put in danger,” Vanessa called out to Catriona, who was gazing at her in awe.

“Don’t think I could have stopped any of them from coming, short of shooting them,” said Catriona. “I figured our odds would be better here. You would not believe the things your alienist’s secretary told us!”

Vanessa made her way to Dr Seward and reached out to the smaller woman, who tucked her gun away and took her former patient’s hand. Vanessa regarded her with a serious expression, each woman looking deeply into the other, before Vanessa said, “So much of this is thanks to your ancestor, The Cutwife – my friend, Joan Clayton. She taught me much I have found useful, about myself. She also taught me that to hold these powers we must also use them to help ease the suffering of our people. Will you join me in this? It is what I must do, now, to end this.”

“You just tell me what you need, Miss Ives.” Seward felt the long-since healed scar on her back tingle as if it were being stroked by a caring hand.

“All of you, then. We must send these souls to peace at last. With mercy. They have known enough of cruelty, and perhaps there can still be redemption for them this way.” Vanessa turned to the nearest creature and gestured to it. The haggard body that had once been a young woman raised herself to sit back on her knees, gazing up at Vanessa. She moved closer, murmuring words in a language few knew, and slashed at the vampire’s throat, tearing through with only her nails and sending her to a true death with an expression of calm bliss transforming the awful face in the last moments. 

Everyone helped work their way through the crowd, each saying words of prayer or benediction as best they knew. Finally, Vanessa faced a small boy she recognized from that fateful day when she first visited the museum. 

“I am sorry your life had to be so short.” She found herself more hurt at the idea of having to send this one to rest than she’d have thought herself able. Perhaps she was recovering something of her true self, although the deadly strength in her hand told her she was still a vampire. 

“Don’t be, my lady, beloved, mother.” The child looked up at her with wide fearless eyes, and she kept her own open as she sliced through him. She owed the poor thing that, at least, to bear witness. With a pang of sadness she recalled the vision Lucifer had offered her in the witches’ house. The vision that would never come to pass now. 

She turned, and saw the others had reassembled in the center of the room, still looking wary at the dark hidden corners. She rejoined them, wrapping an arm around Mina, who ignored the fact that she was soaked in blood up to her elbow and pulled her closer. 

Malcolm was staring at Mina, his mouth working as he searched for words.“Is that my knife?” he finally said, gesturing at Mina’s free hand. 

“I think it’s mine now. And I think I have several things to say to you – later.”

“Van, I should never have left.” Ethan began, looking hurt. 

“Did you really think being as you are meant there could be no love? Do you realize the things you said made me think it meant as much for me as well?” Vanessa’s voice held no judgment, only a soft sadness. 

“I’m a monster,” said Ethan, “you know that.”

“As are we all.” Vanessa smiled and kissed Mina. When she pulled away the blood on both their faces had smeared further. She considered Mina’s face and added, “And we also need to bathe, preferably soon.”

Back in their shared room, the two freshly bathed women settled onto the bed to brush the tangles from each other’s hair. The others were assembled downstairs, enjoying tea and whiskey. They would have to join them soon, but for now having time alone together after their ordeal was just what they needed. Catriona had made them promise they’d tell her everything that happened for her notes. She was especially interested in Vanessa’s new existence, saying it was something never before seen and probably not even possible. 

“I don’t know what I thought would happen,” said Mina as she ran her tongue over the fangs she still had. “That I would die, or be human again – I guess I’d have to die then, wouldn’t I? But I keep stretching my mind, my spirit out, and I cannot feel him anywhere now. Yet, I am still as he made me.”

“You are yourself, nothing else,” said Vanessa, pulling a handful of Mina’s golden hair to bring her mouth close enough for another kiss. 

“And you,” said Mina, breaking away and playfully leaning in to nip at Vanessa’s throat, “are this impossible thing, and the most incredible creature I have ever seen.”

“Am I?”

“Oh, you were to start with. You always were; you know that!”

Vanessa turned Mina around to hold her close. There was so much they didn’t know, and there would be so many challenges in this new life. He could always come back, as could Lucifer, but any threat that arose could be dealt with in its own time. Her thoughts were interrupted by Mina’s voice again.

“We should get a cat!”

“A cat?” Vanessa laughed with joy at Mina’s light happy tone.

“Of course. You can’t be a proper witch without a cat, can you?” Mina tilted her head back to smile up at her Vanessa.

“I’m not sure I care about being proper. In fact, I am thinking of being extremely improper right now.” 

“Oh, yes,” said Mina. The others could wait. “Now, and forever again.”

“And forever,” echoed Vanessa, her breath brushing against Mina’s lips. Forever would be such a long time, but the idea of it no longer held any horrors for either of them.


End file.
